June 12: Obi takes swipe at Tinubu, says nothing to celebrate after two years of his regime.
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023 election, Peter Obi, has taken a swipe at the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying that in two years of government, Nigerians had not fared better.
He said that there is nothing to celebrate about June 12 as Nigerians are still languishing in poverty and deprivation.
The Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) said the former governor of Anambra State made a Democracy Day broadcast on “Democracy in Decline: Reflecting on Two Years of Tinubu’s Governance”, where he gave his position on the Tinubu administration.
Obi, who did a sectoral analysis of the midterm report of the administration, ranging from corruption, prudence, economy, insecurity to politics, concluded that the President was detached from the people, adding, “Governing by remote is not what Nigerians need, you need to go round and get firsthand.”
The POMR Spokesman, Ibrahim Umar, quoted Obi as saying, “The President should stop touring outside Nigeria and use his remaining two years to tour the Nigerian states instead.
“Mr President, you have already made over 30 international trips, spending nearly 150 days abroad. If you tour Nigeria’s 36 states and dedicate just 2 days to tour each state, it would take only 72 days for you to do so, less than half the time you have already spent outside the country on foreign trips. You need to go around the country to see.”
Obi advised on how to deepen democracy, appealing to Tinubu “to emulate late President Umaru Yar’Adua who was honest enough to admit the process that brought him into office was wrong and not sufficiently credible, and thus insisted on doing what is right to save our democracy. And similarly, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan saved our nascent democracy by accepting defeat even before the election results were announced.”
He added, “We must end this troubling governance era that is filled with impunity, state capture, and absolute disregard for the rule of law and the checks and balances required of any worthwhile democracy.”
Obi regretted that “in our present state, our dear country Nigeria cannot be justifiably classified as a democratic country. The vital indicators of democracy are noticeably absent. Some do not even exist. Democracy is said to be ‘a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,’ yet none of these three measures exist in our democracy today.”
“Rules, regulations and requirements to participate in elections or be elected for are not followed; consequently, individuals who are to be disqualified ab initio are now holding public offices.”
Speaking further on the state of democracy in the country, he stated, “It is most troubling that in its two years in office, the present government has brought the nation to the point where our leaders now celebrate and endorse failure, lies, and propaganda. The government today, rather than show genuine accountability and measurable progress, focuses on manipulating narratives, gaslighting the public, shifting blame, and weaponising governance.”
The former governor expressed sadness that while “Nigerians live in a worsening and worrisome insecurity, widespread corruption, hunger, and general despondency.
“There are no clear benchmarks for measuring tangible development, as we continue to witness the collapse of key indicators — like education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation — which are parameters for measuring national progress.
“Our country today can best be described as a nation declining fast in all its facets. The security of lives and property has worsened, and the rule of law is virtually non-existent. These are the hard-verifiable facts: On 29 May 2023, when this government was sworn into office, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at $364 billion. As of today, it has declined to $188 billion, a decline of almost fifty per cent (50%).
“Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1,640 as of May 2023, but today it has dropped drastically to about $835, a devastating decline of about 50%.
“Nigerians living in multi-dimensional poverty increased from 38.9% to 54% within this period, with about 129 million Nigerians now living below the poverty line. The World Bank reported recently that 75% of Nigerians in rural areas now live in poverty as of 2025, and even more than previously recorded in the urban areas.
“Today, more than 18.3 million Nigerian children are out of school, the highest number in the world. The quality of education in Nigeria is also deteriorating rapidly. Many of our children are being taught sciences without any science labs and computer studies without any computers. Students are now writing WAEC and other national exams in the dark, relying on candles. There are now even glitches in their exams.
